


A Conversation

by Kalua



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: ('scuse me I'm just loving that both "needs" and "gets a hug" are canon tags), Canon Divergence - They Return to Their Own Timeline (so no Sparrow Academy), Canon-Typical Drug Use, Ghosts, Is it still Major Character Death if the character has technically been dead from the start?, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Talking To Dead People, The Umbrella Academy (TV) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26646436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalua/pseuds/Kalua
Summary: The second apocalypse has been averted, and the Hargreeves siblings are back in their time - which should be a reason to celebrate. But in the light of Ben's sacrifice and his own inability to save Dave, Klaus can't quite find it in himself to rejoice.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Kudos: 71





	A Conversation

“Klaus… Klaus…”

Klaus barely managed to raise his head. He might not have bothered trying, had the voice not sounded so… familiar.

“Come on, Klaus.”

There was someone standing in the room, but Klaus’ vision was blurry. He blinked a few times, trying to see them clearly. “Dave…?”

The figure nodded, and as Klaus’ vision cleared, he found himself looking up at Dave’s face.

Too overwhelmed for words, Klaus grabbed a bed post to pull himself into a sitting position, his eyes not leaving Dave for even a second. “Shit, am I hallucinating?”

Dave shook his head. “No, Klaus. I’m really here.”

Klaus’ chuckle turned into a sob as tears welled up in his eyes. “Why now?” He sniffled. “I-I tried to see you… I missed you so much, and I-I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, I tried, but I just made things worse, and…”

“Shh.” Dave gently shushed Klaus as he reached out to wrap him in a hug. “It’s okay. You did your best.” He held Klaus tight and petted his hair.

Klaus stopped talking, and after a moment’s hesitation, he returned the hug. Ghost, hallucination, it didn’t matter. What mattered right now was being able to cry into Dave’s chest, feeling him right here by his side.

Dave hugged him closer, whispering gentle words of comfort into his ear. “It’s okay. I’m here now. Let it all out.”

A few minutes were spent crying—not like Klaus had gotten much time to grieve, with the apocalypse looming, twice, and all that.

After a while, Klaus pulled back, slowly, almost scared Dave might disappear if he didn’t cling to him. He sniffled and wiped a sleeve over his eyes, ignoring that his cheeks, too, were wet with tears. “Why now?” he asked, his voice barely even a whisper.

Dave shrugged, a gesture Klaus had seen him do hundreds of times—the way Dave gave an apologetic smile, or how he tilted his head slightly to the side when he raised his shoulders, the right one a bit higher than the left. It was enough to make Klaus’ tears flow again.

A sad smile on his face, Dave reached out to wipe the tears away with his thumb. “I don’t know,” he finally answered, his hand lingering on Klaus’ cheek. “I tried before. I could see you and your brother, but I couldn’t make you see me.”

Klaus flinched at the mention of Ben, but he didn’t want to think about him now. He didn’t want to think about anything but Dave. His breath was unsteady. He didn’t want to ask, was scared of the answer, but he had to know. “Will you stay?”

Dave averted his eyes. That was all the answer Klaus needed, and far more than he could handle. “I’m sorry…”

“No, no, I get it.” Klaus’ voice was trembling. He reached for the nearest bottle. Empty. “This world’s a mess, of course you’d wanna go into the light, leave all this garbage behind.”

“Hey.” Dave locked eyes with Klaus. “The world may be a mess, but it’s more than just garbage, okay? It’s got sunsets and books and… and you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, and I need you to know that.”

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, too.” Klaus’ voice was choked with tears, his vision blurry. “You’re so… So nice, and funny, and beautiful, and I still don’t get what you saw in me, but…”

Dave leaned forward, and his lips met Klaus’, just like in that moment in the disco. “You helped me figure out who I am,” Dave whispered, their lips barely an inch apart. “My world was a lot more colorful with you in it.”

Klaus leaned his forehead against Dave’s and closed his eyes. “I don’t wanna lose you again…”

“I need you to know that I don’t regret even a second.” When Klaus whimpered and shook his head, Dave cupped his face with both hands. “I’m glad I met you, even if it wasn’t for long. I love you, Klaus. So please, keep on living. Really _living_ , not just drifting through life.”

Klaus opened his eyes again, trying to meet Dave’s through a veil of tears. He could already feel the touch becoming lighter as Dave faded away. “Please don’t go…”

“You’ll meet other great people Klaus. I promise.” Dave sniffled; he was crying, too. “Goodbye.”

“No!” Klaus tried to hold on to Dave, grabbed his hands, his clothes, but as he faded away, he slipped through Klaus’ fingers like smoke. “No, Dave, please! Please!”

But no matter how hard he pleaded, Dave was gone.

Klaus let out an anguished scream. He sent the empty bottle flying across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

The shards would cut up Klaus’ feet if he forgot to clean them up. He didn’t care.

Dave was gone, forever.

Ben was gone for good, too.

And they both had told Klaus to take better care of himself.

“Ugh, god, you’re putting me on the spot.” Klaus pulled himself up on the bed. Did they have _any_ idea how _hard_ it would be to do what they asked? “Fine, I’ll try!” He spread out his arms. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything!”

He sniffled and let his gaze drop to the floor. “I’ll try, so please… Please come back… I’ll try if you promise to come back…”

They wouldn’t. Klaus knew they wouldn’t.

“Please don’t leave me alone…”

Silence answered him. Deafening silence.

When Klaus looked around the room, half wondering which bottles still had booze in them, which of his pockets he’d stuffed his leftover pills into.

He could imagine Ben scolding him. ‘Really, Klaus?,’ he’d say. ‘Not even five minutes?’

“Well, if you want to stop me, you should actually _be_ here,” Klaus answered. “But since I now can’t see you _or_ him, what’s the point?”

Being numb was so much easier. No creepy ghosts. No nightmares. Some little chance of forgetting all this mess.

Klaus grabbed his coat and fished a small package out of one of its pockets.

Ben would let out an exasperated sigh and roll his eyes. He’d done that often enough that Klaus could easily picture it, almost as if he were still here.

Klaus would give everything to have the real Ben do it.

He let a pill drop into his palm, raised it to his mouth—and stopped.

He thought of Dave’s smile. Of Ben’s teasing. Of what they both had asked of him.

And he tossed the pill aside.

“All right, you win.” Klaus let himself flop backwards onto the bed. “You win, I’ll try, I’ll _actually_ try.” He put an arm over his eyes as the tears flowed again. “This better be worth it.”

**Author's Note:**

> 😭


End file.
